Christopher Yonitch, 37, was arrested in February and accused of sexually touching one of his fifth-grade students at Washington Elementary School in West Orange. Although he was cleared by a grand jury and a state agency investigating abuse, the school district is still investigating the allegations before deciding whether to bring him back to the classroom. Yonitch said the allegations against him were made in retaliation for reporting abuse from the student's guardian.Seth Augenstein/The Star-Ledger

WEST ORANGE — Before dawn on a February morning, Christopher Yonitch answered his front door to see two police cars and four officers. Yonitch was placed in handcuffs, accused of sexually touching a student in his fifth-grade class at Washington Elementary School in West Orange.

Seven months later, a grand jury cleared him of the charges by refusing to indict him, authorities said. He was also cleared by a state agency specializing in investigational abuse, his attorney said.

Yonitch says he believes the accusations were made in retaliation for his having filed a report of abuse against a guardian of the student in question — just 36 hours prior to the police arriving on his doorstep.

But after his Kafkaesque legal journey, the 37-year-old Livingston man may still have to wait months to return to the classroom, if he ever does.

"In cases like mine, you have to prove your innocence," Yonitch said, seated with his lawyer last week. "It’s not ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ They arrest first and ask questions later."

Yonitch had been charged with aggravated sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child, authorities said at the time. Yonitch made bail before being lodged in the Essex County jail, and he was suspended with pay by the district.

The grand jury took months to look at the evidence and decide there wasn’t enough to indict the teacher — a much-lower threshold than that needed in a trial, according to Timothy Smith, Yonitch’s attorney.

During the grand jury proceedings, three students came forward to testify the girl told them she made the allegations at the behest of her guardian, Smith said.

Yonitch was cleared by the grand jury in September, and there is no criminal case that can be pursued against him, said Kathy Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. She declined further comment.

Smith said the legal process worked as it should have.

"The grand jury was not merely a rubber stamp," Smith said. "They reviewed the allegations ad nauseam — and found them completely unfounded. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office should be commended for their professionalism."

The state Department of Children and Families’ Institutional Abuse Investigation Unit — which investigates accusations happening outside the home — also determined the allegations were unfounded, Smith said.

The state agency could neither confirm nor deny those findings, since all investigations are confidential, spokeswoman Leida Arce said.

But the question remains whether Yonitch will get his job back.

The West Orange school district is conducting its own investigation, said Jim O’Neill, the interim superintendent.

The investigation will last into next year, and then the board will decide whether to continue his employment, O’Neill said. The earliest Yonitch can be in the classroom would be in February, but it could take longer than that, he said.

Yonitch and his lawyer balk at the new investigation, saying that he’s being victimized all over again.

In the interim, Yonitch is at home, suspended with pay since February. He got married in March and is now stepfather to two kids. He and his wife have rescue animals — a dog and three cats.

His heart is still in education — he has two master’s degrees and is qualified to be a school administrator, according to his résumé. He spent two years teaching English in Bulgaria, according to the Peace Corps.